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Within the following month, Candice Storey Lee, the athletic director, must decide whether to extend Stackhouse’s contract or hunt for another option.

A little over 60 days ago, Ezra Manjon, the standout point guard for Vanderbilt, missed a 3-point buzzer-beater, and the No. 23 Memphis Tigers defeated the Commodores, 77-75. Manjon was due for Memorial Magic, one season after he had scored a game-winning layup against Michigan and a stunning buzzer-beater against Auburn.

On February 13, with 13 seconds left, Vanderbilt needed to win its second SEC game of the season, behind Texas A&M 73-72. With 7.9 seconds left, Manjon stole the ball from the Vanderbilt baseline, drove across the halfcourt line, attempted a shot that Solomon Washington blocked, stole the ball back in 1.4 seconds, and hailed another shot just before the final buzzer sounded.

When Manjon’s buzzer-beater prayer was answered, the Memorial Gymnasium crowd of Vanderbilt supporters went crazy. In February, Vanderbilt had improved to 2-2.

Following the game, Manjon remarked, “[We’ve] been through a lot this season and we just continued to fight.” “It meant the world to be able to spend that time with my guys.”

me.”

Jerry Stackhouse also expressed the pride he had in coaching the players on his roster.

“It’s good for us to have these moments because they [the team] stick together and they continue to work,” Stackhouse said. “When you see a team like that and how they’re happy for their teammates’ success, it just speaks volumes of the type of kids that we have, and I’m proud of it.”

Four days later, however, the Commodores appeared bewildered as they were humiliated 88-53 by the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers. This was Vanderbilt’s biggest losing margin over Tennessee since 2014.

Contradiction

The Commodores’ performance this season has been patchy at best.

In brief times, Vanderbilt has demonstrated its ability to contend with the top teams in the country. The Commodores were defeated by No. 13 Alabama and No. 23 Memphis by a mere possession.

Additionally, the Commodores have shown that they are not even close to the elite SEC clubs. The Commodores have lost eight nonconference games, including their home opener against No. 315 Presbyterian, but they have outscored opponents 934-768 in their 12 SEC contests. Vanderbilt has averaged 64 points per game while its opponents have averaged slightly less than 78 points per game in conference play.

In their two encounters, Tennessee scored a total of 163 points against Vanderbilt, while the Kentucky Wildcats scored their highest number of points (109), away from home, since 1996.

From the beginning on Saturday, Vanderbilt’s state rivals outperformed them.

The Volunteers led 35-8 after just over 13 minutes of play in their next game, and the Commodores were fast asleep after their incredible victory over Texas A&M. Vanderbilt was 1-of-9 from behind the arc and 3-of-17 from the field at that time, while Tennessee was 5-of-10 from the 3-point line and 14-of-25 from the field.

From the start, the Commodores appeared discordant and disengaged. KenPom ranks Tennessee’s defense as the sixth most effective in the league. Even though the Volunteers defense is strong, it is unacceptable to lose by 35 points.

Vanderbilt struggled to find strong shots at the hoop on Saturday, despite having an offensive rhythm and producing good looks at the basket against Texas A&M. In the end, Vanderbilt’s field goal percentage versus the Volunteers was 33.3%.

“We’ll figure that out,” Stackhouse said after the game when asked what his point of emphasis will be moving forward.

Ven’s ascent

Getting the ball in the paint to center Ven-Allen Lubin could be a viable point of emphasis moving forward.

After Liam Robbins declared for the NBA draft and Quentin Millora-Brown and Malik Dia left after the 2023 season, Stackhouse brought in Notre Dame transfer Lubin and South Dakota transfer Tasos Kamateros to solidify the Vanderbilt frontcourt. Lubin was originally slated to split the load with Lee Dort as Vanderbilt’s starting big men, but an assault charge sidelined Dort since his first game of the season.

Lubin made his Vanderbilt debut against NC State at the Vegas Showdown on Nov. 23, 2023. He proved to be a force in the paint, scoring 16 points and notching 8 rebounds in Vanderbilt’s six-point loss. Since then, Lubin has been one of the few consistent starters for the Black and Gold.

Lubin scored 12 points from the floor on just 9 shots, providing an offensive spark in Vanderbilt’s 15-point loss against South Carolina on February 10.

Three days later, in Vanderbilt’s exciting 74-73 victory over Texas A&M, the native of Florida scored a career-high 25 points. Lubin shot 69.2% from the field, a season-high, and went 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. The opening 11 points for Vanderbilt were all scored by the sophomore.

Lubin scored 25 points on the night, which was the third-most points Texas A&M has given up to a single player in an SEC contest this year. With the Aggies, only Tramon Mark of Arkansas has scored more points. Mark led Arkansas to two wins over Texas A&M, scoring 26 points in each game. Mark and Lubin differ mostly in that Mark typically takes 25.8% of Arkansas’s shots, whilst Lubin typically takes 21.3% of Vanderbilt’s shots.

Against South Carolina and Texas A&M, Lubin averaged a flawless 68% field goal percentage for Vanderbilt. In that time, he also averaged 19 points, which is 8 points more than he did during the season.

In terms of 2-point field goal percentage (46.9%), Vanderbilt is ranked 303rd in Division 1, and Lubin keeps the Commodores from improving that figure. The highest percentage of any Vanderbilt player who has played in at least 16% of the team’s possessions is 53.6%, which Lubin has made of his 2-pointers.

Candice Storey Lee’s looming decision 

The Commodores have six games remaining on their regular season schedule with only two more home matchups before students go on spring break. Vanderbilt will have to play No. 24 Florida twice and No. 17 Kentucky moving forward. Before the season comes to an end, the Commodores will likely be the No. 13 seed or No. 14 seed in the SEC Tournament. Unless Vanderbilt wins the conference tournament, an NIT appearance or an NCAA Tournament appearance is nearly impossible at this point.

Stackhouse will look to have his team bounce back from their humiliating loss to Tennesee and win a few more SEC games before the season concludes. After the season, star guard Manjon will no longer be on West End, having used all of his NCAA eligibility.

Stackhouse may also be in his last season with the Commodores. Beyond not making an NCAA Tournament in his five years at Vanderbilt, Stackhouse will likely lead Vanderbilt to a sub-10 win season this year. That would be the second time in five seasons a Stackhouse-led Vanderbilt team has secured this feat.

One season ago, Stackhouse led Vanderbilt to its most wins since 2012 (22) and won 13 SEC games. Despite being snubbed from an NCAA Tournament appearance, Vanderbilt made it to the NIT Quarterfinals, before losing to UAB. Vanderbilt’s strong regular season led to Stackhouse winning SEC Co-Coach of the Yearbefore the SEC Tournament.

There is a strong possibility the Commodores fail to win half of the games they did last season. Although Vanderbilt lost many key pieces to its 2022-23 team in Robbins, Jordan Wright and Millora-Brown, Stackhouse may not have enough going in his court to earn another season as head coach for the Commodores.

Athletic director Candice Storey Lee has an important decision to make within the next month: keep Stackhouse for one more year or look elsewhere. No matter who Vanderbilt’s head coach is next season, the Commodores should focus on keeping Jason Rivera-Torres and Lubin from entering the transfer portal